Top Anime of 2020

[kn1000a 99]

About 3 months late, but that's a lot of improvement (compared to 1 year late last time : P).

 

It's time to post your fav anime of 2020! Be it that one show you randomly binge and nothing else out of the whole year, or your list of titles that you can't pick, let us see c:

As always, I will post what I believe to be the best anime per season, so 4 total! They will all be non-sequel or not in a major series, so anybody looking for something they can quickly jump in will have a better time~

(ofc I will mention good sequels I like too)

 

WINTER: ID:Invaded Id:Invaded (ID: INVADED) - MyAnimeList.net

 

This is to me the best detective, psychological, and mystery anime of the past decade. The anime is slept on by so many people (though for good reason, most people watching anime don't like the serious genres). As a fan of mystery and how the human mind works, this anime is phenomenal. Can't spoil too much because I believe it's one of those anime too good that a lot of description will spoil the fun. Certainly give it a try!

 

 

SPRING: Balance: Unlimited Fugou Keiji: Balance:Unlimited - MyAnimeList.net

 

You probably expected me to say Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai?: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen - MyAnimeList.net which is probably many people's best anime of 2020. I personally say the manga is 10x better, but that's just me. Anyway, because I already dig Kaguya in a different medium, it made Balance:Unlimited stood out as the best show I watched of Spring. It has a little bit of mystery, of comedy, and of satisfaction; given that one of the main character is a rich guy who can hack and buy a literal hotel just in a matter of seconds, enabling him to stake out in it with the cops. Sounds pretty shit, huh? But I assure you the execution is done very well; he still has limitations on his technology, and of course a moral about relying completely on material wealth. Oh, did I mention the detective work is dope too?

 

 

SUMMER: The Misfit of Demon King Academy https://myanimelist.net/anime/40496

 

In term of new anime, this season is the worst of 2020. I picked Maou because I enjoyed the anime (despite manga being better), but it is still just a self-fulfilling anime around power fantasy. I also like https://myanimelist.net/anime/37587/Lapis_Re_LiGHTs (but obv not something for everybody) and https://myanimelist.net/anime/40056/Deca-Dence (but have not finish, strong start tho). Don't even get me start on https://myanimelist.net/anime/40839/Kanojo_Okarishimasu as it is perfectly summed up in one word: simp.

Summer has a few good sequels tho, noticeably Re:Zero, Oregairu last season, and Fire Force.

 

 

FALL: Wandering Witch Elaina https://myanimelist.net/anime/40571

 

As if to make up for last season, this one is full with hype trains. Wandering Witch Elaina was for me the best one because it encapsulate both the comfy-iest and darkest moments in the story. It's a cute, episodic anime that follows a witch girl as she finds more about herself and those she passed by. Expect dilemma with difficult decisions as well. It really is an experience, needs S2 ASAP.

A title that will probably on most people's best of Fall 2020 is https://myanimelist.net/anime/40748/Jujutsu_Kaisen_TV. Shounen genre, crisp quality, and overall a very good anime. https://myanimelist.net/anime/41389/Tonikaku_Kawaii is one of the best romance anime you could watch, as it is the same author of Hayate the Butler. Then there's also https://myanimelist.net/anime/40911/Yuukoku_no_Moriarty which is the second best mystery anime I watched in the last decade, behind Invaded:ID. The atmosphere is superb.

Other worthy mention are https://myanimelist.net/anime/41433/Akudama_Drive which is is pretty good but kinda hard to balance pacing due to too many casts of unique characters, and https://myanimelist.net/anime/40550/Assault_Lily__Bouquet for being Shaft's anime (dope ass animation).

I was also hyped for https://myanimelist.net/anime/41006/Higurashi_no_Naku_Koro_ni_Gou but because it is a sequel, and because it sucks more than I expected (only the last like 10 eps were interesting), I didn't wanna give it any praise.

 

 

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BEST OF 2020: ID:Invaded https://myanimelist.net/anime/40046/Id_Invaded

Definitely ID:Invaded. I just love how sophisticated this anime is while maintaining very real detective work. Many other will disagree as they have their own personal preferences and genres, but detective mystery anime is very hard to come by, especially a clever one. The OST are also good as hell too.

 

Edited April 25, 2021 by kn1000a

[Pasa 278]

Top anime Wandering Witch Elaina

Second place Somali